How much is self-pay echocardiogram in the UK?

Neither Nuffield Health nor Spire Healthcare publishes a quotable price for echocardiogram, so there is no published figure to give. Ask the hospital for a written quote. No GP referral or private health insurance is required to pay for treatment yourself, and you can self-fund while remaining on the NHS waiting list.

How much does private echocardiogram cost in the UK?

No published price is available. Echocardiogram is not priced in a quotable form on the Nuffield Health or Spire Healthcare price lists, so any figure here would be invented. Circle Health Group, Ramsay Health Care UK and HCA Healthcare also offer this procedure. Ask any of them for a written quote covering the facility, consultant, anaesthetist and follow-up.

How long is the NHS wait for echocardiogram in the UK?

The current median NHS wait for echocardiogram (within the Cardiology specialty) in England is approximately 12 weeks. The 92nd percentile (long-tail) wait can extend to 32 weeks. Waits vary significantly by NHS trust — see the city breakdowns below for local figures.

Can I switch from NHS to private for echocardiogram?

Yes. You can self-fund or use private health insurance to access echocardiogram privately while remaining on the NHS waiting list. Many patients do this to avoid the long wait. Some private hospitals offer consultation packages where you can be assessed within days. You will not lose your NHS place by getting a private opinion or treatment.

Which cities have the shortest NHS waits for echocardiogram?

Based on the latest NHS England RTT data, the UK cities with the shortest median waits for cardiology (the specialty covering echocardiogram) include Leeds (5 weeks), Sunderland (7 weeks), Nottingham (9 weeks), Milton Keynes (10 weeks), Liverpool (10 weeks). See the full city table below.

Is echocardiogram covered by private health insurance?

Most major UK health insurers (Bupa, AXA, Vitality, Aviva, WPA) cover echocardiogram on standard policies, subject to underwriting and policy terms. Pre-existing conditions are typically excluded. Always confirm coverage with your insurer before scheduling.

Echocardiogram UK: NHS waits and private options

Ultrasound scan of the heart to assess structure and function. No major private hospital group publishes a quotable price for this procedure. The current NHS median wait is around 12 weeks.

Private price

Not published

Why there is no figure

NHS median wait (England)

12 weeks

Specialty: Cardiology

Long-tail wait (92nd percentile)

32 weeks

157,530 patients waiting

According to TreatCompare analysis of NHS England RTT data, the current national median NHS wait for echocardiogram is approximately 12 weeks, while the 92nd percentile wait is approximately 32 weeks.

According to TreatCompare analysis of price lists published by Nuffield Health and Spire Healthcare, neither operator publishes a quotable price for private echocardiogram.

According to TreatCompare analysis, users comparing echocardiogram should check local NHS wait by city or postcode before deciding whether private self-pay, insurance or staying on the NHS list is the better route.

TreatCompare NHS wait and private price model. NHS data month: Jul 2026.

Important context

NHS waiting-time figures are published at trust or specialty level. Private prices are read from individual hospitals’ own published price lists and cover two hospital groups rather than the whole private market; each operator defines its own inclusions, so their figures are shown separately and not averaged. Local eligibility, referral route, clinical urgency, provider package and insurance status can change the real-world choice. TreatCompare is for comparison only and is not medical, legal or financial advice.

Source type: Official NHS waiting-time data and private price model
Primary source: NHS England Referral to Treatment waiting-time data
Reporting period: Jul 2026
Last updated: 2026-10-06
Figure type: Mixed sources
Use: Research and comparison only

Are you a clinic, provider or data owner?

If you believe information on this page is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or presented without necessary context, contact us with the page URL and supporting evidence. We review correction requests promptly, but they are not automatically accepted.

Request a correction View methodology

What private hospitals publish for echocardiogram

Too few hospitals publish a price for this procedure to give a meaningful median, so here are the 2 that do, individually. A median drawn from this many hospitals would be a coin toss with a statistical word attached.

Nuffield Health

Echocardiogram, scan only. Guide price, excludes consultant fees, prosthesis and drugs.

Manchester Diagnostic Suite£399
MIHP£399

Read from each operator’s own published price pages, 2026-10-05. These are individual hospitals’ published figures, not a national average.

Help improve this dataset

Seen a different echocardiogram price?

Send the provider, price, inclusions and source date. We review submissions before publishing and use them to catch stale quotes, missing fees and better local options.

Submit a price Provider update Manage alerts

Compare your route

Choose the right echocardiogram comparison route

People often start with the national price, then drill into a city, postcode area or referral route. These links keep that path visible from the top of the page.

Finance options

National overviewCurrentNHS waits across England, and what private hospitals do and do not publish.Leeds city pageA local NHS wait page with trust context and private price range.Postcode area pagesStart with a postcode area and move into outcode-level pages.Private GP referralCheck same-day GP and referral options before contacting hospitals.All NHS vs privateCompare other procedures if the patient is still researching options.

Decision paths

Compare echocardiogram waits, prices and next actions

These pages are most useful when visitors move from the national benchmark into a local wait, private price range, referral route or price-update action.

Check NHS wait in your areaStart with Leeds, then compare other cities.See what is publishedWhat the major private hospital groups publish for this procedure.Use postcode pagesMove from postcode area to outcode-level NHS wait context.Compare referral routesPrivate GP and referral-letter options before contacting hospitals.Submit a price updateSend a hospital quote or updated provider fee.Ask for verificationRequest editorial or reviewer checking for this page.

Track echocardiogram waits and prices

Get notified when we update the private price range or add new provider context.

We'll send a confirmation link first. No marketing — alerts only. Unsubscribe with one click in any email.

NHS wait by city — fastest first

City	Median wait	Compare locally
Leeds	5 weeks	See Leeds →
Sunderland	7 weeks	See Sunderland →
Nottingham	9 weeks	See Nottingham →
Milton Keynes	10 weeks	See Milton Keynes →
Liverpool	10 weeks	See Liverpool →
Newcastle upon Tyne	10 weeks	See Newcastle upon Tyne →
Portsmouth	10 weeks	See Portsmouth →
Reading	11 weeks	See Reading →
Southampton	11 weeks	See Southampton →
Coventry	11 weeks	See Coventry →
Stoke-on-Trent	11 weeks	See Stoke-on-Trent →
Bradford	11 weeks	See Bradford →
Middlesbrough	11 weeks	See Middlesbrough →
Oxford	11 weeks	See Oxford →
London	12 weeks	See London →
Preston	12 weeks	See Preston →
Derby	12 weeks	See Derby →
Sheffield	12 weeks	See Sheffield →
Brighton	12 weeks	See Brighton →
Plymouth	12 weeks	See Plymouth →
Leicester	12 weeks	See Leicester →
Manchester	13 weeks	See Manchester →
Norwich	13 weeks	See Norwich →
Birmingham	13 weeks	See Birmingham →
Bristol	14 weeks	See Bristol →
York	14 weeks	See York →
Exeter	15 weeks	See Exeter →
Cambridge	17 weeks	See Cambridge →
Blackpool	18 weeks	See Blackpool →
Hull	18 weeks	See Hull →

Looking for echocardiogram waits by postcode?

We also publish wait times by postcode area, mapped to the NHS trust most likely to accept your GP referral.

See echocardiogram by postcode area →

Every published private echocardiogram price, by scan type →

All English cities

Other procedures

Knee replacement surgery Hip replacement surgery Cataract surgery Hernia repair Varicose vein treatment Hysterectomy Tonsillectomy Gallbladder removal Carpal tunnel release Bunion surgery Shoulder arthroscopy Colonoscopy MRI scan CT scan X-ray Ultrasound scan